Science makes the USDA Forest Service unique. The
ability to conduct scientific research in-house, to apply
research findings on the National Forest System lands,
and to transfer them to others for use on all of the
nation’s forest land sets the Forest Service apart as a
natural resource agency. A unique and exceedingly
valuable part of the infrastructure in place to conduct
this research is the national network of experimental
forests and ranges, a land base authorized by Congress
and designated by the Chiefs of the Forest Service over
the last 100 years. These experimental forests and ranges
are not historical relics, but the sites for most of the longterm
research conducted by Forest Service Research and
Development and our partners. The experimental forests
and ranges are living laboratories where Forest Service
scientists not only make discoveries but also demonstrate
research results for cooperators and stakeholders. They
provide the opportunity to conduct the bold, imaginative
research that will be required for the future.